Born in France in 1727, Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent reached New Orleans and built his reputation during one of the area’s earliest boom periods. This biography tells how the penniless St. Maxent came to Louisiana, established his fortune by marrying an heiress, and proceeded to make his indelible mark on the history of Louisiana.

An investor in the fur trade, St. Maxent set up a trading outpost that would one day become St. Louis, Missouri. His fortunes grew when Louisiana’s French governor Kerlerec granted him the exclusive right to trade with the Indians of the Missouri River, as far north as Lake St. Peter. Appointed a militia colonel by Kerlerec in 1753, St. Maxent went on to earn myriad titles and designations, with appointments from the King of Spain and Louisiana’s governors, among others. He also played a role in the building of such New Orleans landmarks as St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo, and Fort St. Philip.

Set against a background of turbulent political history in Louisiana during the eighteenth century, St. Maxent’s story includes vivid anecdotes about his princely life in New Orleans, the fate of his beautiful daughters, and his imprisonment in Jamaica by the English. Complete with images, maps, and portraits, this detailed biography draws upon original and little-used sources to present a vibrant account of one of the great forces in Louisiana history.

About the Author James Julian Coleman, Jr., comes from a Louisiana family that has long been associated with the Mississippi River and its commerce. His great-grandfather owned a rice plantation and constructed the first rice mill to be built in the South. Coleman, who studied at Princeton, Oxford, and Tulane universities, was the youngest man ever to address the Louisiana Historical Society. He lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.